SMART WIND MARKET ANALYSIS

Smart Wind MarketSize and Trends

Requirement to counter the pollution, reduce consumption of conventional fuels and increase the efficiency of renewable power sources such as hydro, solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels is expected to be the major trend that will drive the utilization of smart means for energy generation. Smart wind market refers to utilization of computing models, better turbines positioning, improved efficiency of rotor blades to the mechanical parts inside the nacelle, connected sensors, and software to optimize the efficiency of the operations under broader range of conditions.

Incorporating intelligent algorithms and sensors in these next generation models has led to increased reliability and ability to function in relatively lower air current speeds. Owing to increased reliability, overall operation costs are significantly reduced and allows the turbine to capture more energy with less downtimes. Moreover, next generation low capacity models are featured with the ability to produce more kWhs over its long run. For instance, in February 2013, GE introduced 2.5-120 turbine, which had relatively lower power output than its dominant 2.85 megawatt turbine. However, owing to the integration of arrays of sensors in conjunction with algorithms it was featured with the capacity of producing around 15% more kilowatt hours. These factors are expected to prominently drive the industry growth through the forecast period.

According to American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), unsubsidized costs of this energy generation methodology in the country ranged from US$ 32 to 62 per MWh in 2016, which was relatively lower to the gas combined cycle that ranged from US$ 48 to 78 per MWh, which was the cheapest conventional energy source. Moreover, pricing trend has witnessed considerable decline over the past few years. According to Coherent Market Insights, owing to these advantageous factors, the number of deployment of wind farms is expected to increase over 1.5X in 2016, which will provide substantial opportunities for the smart wind market over the next few years.